Water authorities have reduced allocation to supplier in the country’s most populated areas as El Niño-induced drought looms in the Western Pacific region.
The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has initiated a 15 per cent reduction in raw water allocation for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to preserve the remaining supply in Angat Dam, Manila’s main supplier.
The dam’s water level is “actively receding” despite intermittent rains last week, putting at risk over 90% of Metro Manila’s raw water needs. The NWRB implemented the cut after the dam’s water level dipped to 178.21 meters, well below its minimum operating level of 180 meters.
Metro Manila consumers are expected to experience lower water pressure or scheduled interruptions as distributors like Manila Water and Maynilad adjust to reduced raw water supply in the coming days.
Intense heat brought about by the country’s summer season have increased demand for water in the Philippines, a situation made worse by reduced rainfall brought about by anticipated onset of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Activating back-up water supply
El Niño is a climate pattern characterized by the warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. This disrupts global weather systems, typically causing severe droughts and heat waves in Southeast Asia and Australia, while bringing heavy flooding and coastal erosion to parts of South America.
Water in Philippine lakes and dams are undergoing faster evaporation due to intense heat that regularly hit 47ºC over majority of the tropical country.
NWRB executive director Sevillo David Jr. announced preparations for cloud-seeding operations over the Angat Watershed to induce rainfall and boost the dam’s elevation.
The Board is also set to activate its water filtration stations in Laguna de Bai lake as well as deep-well pumps to augment water supply should drought-like conditions happen in the coming months.
Effects on small businesses, households
The worsening situation worries small businesses reliant on steady water supply, such as laundry shops and water-refilling stations.
Marcial Ramos said his newly-opened laundry shop in Quezon City may have started at the wrong time. “I just started this business 11 days ago, and then I was informed by local authorities that rotational water supply interruptions are possibilities in the coming weeks,” he rued.
Romeo Barrientos, owner of the water-refilling station beside Ramos’ shop, also fears reduced income from supply interruptions. “We may have to reduce operations in certain times of the day. I am thinking of investing in a bigger water tank so I can have reserves,” he said.
Barrientos also worries about negative effects of water supply interruptions to his water filtration business. “Water that comes in tends to have more particulates when the tap is turned back on. This forces me to change to new filters faster than usual,” he explained.
Meanwhile, sale of water containers have picked up since NWRB’s announcement over the weekend.
Wilma, a mother of four, said she needs more buckets to store water in. “Supply is only stable very early in the morning. Pressure drops whenever the entire neighborhood wakes up to start their day,” she said.
Superprofits despite supply issues
Meanwhile, the Water for the People campaign of IBON Foundation condemned government’s water service policies, pointing out that private water distribution companies continue to earn superprofits despite supply woes.
“Water privatization continues under the Marcos Jr. administration, enabling oligarch and foreign-owned Maynilad Water Services (Pangilinan, Consunji) and Manila Water Company (Razon, Ayala) to reap soaring profits despite persistent service issues,” IBON said.
The economic think-tank revealed that Maynilad and Manila Water’s net income nearly tripled from 2022 to 2025. Maynilad’s three-year income jumped from P5.9 billion to P15.2 billion while Manila Water’s income soared from P5.9 billion to P15.9 billion in the said timeframes.
“Water districts under joint venture agreements with private firms have also reported steep increase of up to 33-43% between 2022 and 2025 in places like San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, and Metro Iloilo, despite complaints of murky {and} intermittent supply,” the group added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
